Hunting in the Rain
by Zeitlose Alters
Summary: {I know the title stink I couldn't think of anything else}. When the company runs out of food, Kili and Fili volunteer to go hunting. But they get separated and all goes TERRIBLY wrong. MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR hurt!Kili. Rating for blood, gore, a teensy bit of language, a quick fight scene, and just bc im a lil paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**here's another hobbit story for yall. Just had this idea floating in my head so I typed it out. Voila. And I did NOT hold back with the hurt!Kili. I let him have it. :)**

* * *

Rain. It _had_ to be rain. Each pelting droplet was like a frigid bullet upon the company. And just as everyone was doubting the end of their deluge...they found it. Their salvation. After hours and hours of traipsing through the sopping forest, were only lucky enough to have found a outcropping. Albeit small and dark, it was high enough off the ground for the dwarves (and hobbit) to crawl under and have a dry rest. It was at the moment when everyone was unpacked enough for the night, and Bofur was preparing to cook that the awful realization hit them...they were out of food.

"All we got is some...uh...actually we don't have nothing," the toymaker reluctantly admitted.

"I can just go hunt something," Kili volunteered, "it won't take but an hour in these woods."

The company eyed Thorin suspiciously before he spoke up, "no. What if you get lost, of something happens?"

Fili spoke out from behind his uncle, "I'll go with him. I mean, anything is better than sitting here wet and starving. If we have to be one, at least lets not be hungry."

The king stared at his nephews and contemplated the request. As usual, the two made a most convincing argument when they were trying to prove their uncle wrong. And he always ended up giving in. They _were_ right.

"Fine. Go hunting. But if your out too long, I'm coming after you two, " Thorin redirected his attention while Fili and Kili grabbed their various weapons, "Dori, Nori, get a fire going."

"We'll be back soon!" the brothers yelled as they disappeared into the rainy shrubbery.

* * *

How long had it been since they left? An hour? Two...maybe two and a half? Regardless Fili and Kili were about to return just as soaked as before and empty handed. Just when they were about to turn and head back, a twig snapped loudly off somewhere close.l the two paused.

"Hey, Fili, d'you hear that? I think I found us a nice, big, buck," Kili smiled and drew his bow.

"Yeah. But, how do you know what type of animal that is? I wonder about you sometimes."

"Shush. Hey I saw something move over there! This'll be quick!" and he was already running through the bushes towards his target.

He didn't see what Kili was aiming at, actually. Fili went to grab his brother to follow him after the alleged deer...only there was a slight problem. Kili was gone. As in nowhere to be found.

Fili's heart began to race. Where was Kili? One second he was right there running to look for a deer...the next he was nowhere in sight. The blonde began yelling his brother's name at the top of his lungs. No answer. He tried running through the nearest trees. No luck. Fili's heart was beating in his throat.

Fili rubbed his temples in thought, _Where would Kili go? The camp! Maybe he went back to the camp. If he got lost he would just look for the fire. He's smart. I'll go back a-and there'll be Kili roasting that damn deer on a spit._

The only problem is that he didn't believe that. Not one bit. But he had to. Fili had his mind made up, mostly. But he ran off that "mostly". And ran towards the tiny orange dot he saw off about a mile away that he knew as the company's fire.

* * *

Kili was lost. No avoiding that fact. He. Was. Lost. The deer went off one direction, he went another. And now he was in the middle of drop-dead-nowhere. He kept hearing branches snap around him, which told him he that he was either losing it or he was being followed. But he disregarded both. Then he saw it. That deer. Moving a few meters in front of him.

_Gotcha_.

Kili ran at the animal, but soon found himself laying on the forest floor with an excruciating pain ripping through his right leg. His ears rang and it took a minute for him to gather his bearings. Finally he decided to look at what grabbed him. But the second he looked he want to puke out his stomach. A grisly bear trap was squeezing its way through his flesh and he could feel the bone splitting under the harsh spikes.

The young dwarf's first instinct was to pry the trap off...bit he didn't have the time. Before he could think he was being pulled up in the air. The figure was strong, obviously, and quickly spun Kili around to face him. But where the dwarf was expecting someone like Dwalin...he got a menacing Orc.

"Look wha' I caught," the Orc spat out in a voice like gravel, "we're gonna have fun with you."

that was the last thing Kili saw before his forehead collided with a knife handle and all went black.


	2. Chapter 2

There it was. It was so close that Fili could here the other dwarves ran through the trees at his fastest and burst into the clearing where all the others looked him over worriedly. Thorin rose and walked over to his returning nephew (who was doubled over trying to catch his breath).

"What happened? Where's Kili?" Thorin was firm.

"He's...he's not here with you?!" Fili asked hurriedly through pants.

"What happened?" Thorin asked more hard now then ever.

"Kili saw a deer and ran after it, but when I went to chase after him...he was gone. I called his name but he didn't answer and I looked but I-I never found him. I thought he came back here!"

"Thorin, go. Better you two find him than something else," Dwalin pushed the king enough to finally make up his mind.

Thorin ran back and picked up his sword, ran back to his nephew, and the two ran back into the forest to look for Kili. Thorin, on the other hand, looked concerned, but on the inside he was freaking out.

_I warned him this would happen. I knew something would go wrong. With his thick head, he's as stubborn as a mule._

* * *

His head felt like it'd had been bashed in two. That's all he could focus on, really. He even ignored the fact that he was shivering like crazy. Kili mustered all his strength into opening his eyes and found himself bound and gagged and surrounded by five of the ugliest Orcs he had ever seen. They were yapping in their language and paid no heed to their newly come-to hostage. And he could see his bow, quiver still fully stocked, and sword laying near one's foot along with his leather over coat, boots and armor. No wonder he was cold...he was wearing nothing but his tunic, trousers, and was barefoot. He heard a river flowing close by and soon saw it through the trees.

He glanced down at his leg which was coated over in coagulated blood, and after running a tied hand gingerly over his forehead he found a large bump over his left eye.

_Perfect_.

Kili was laying haphazardly over a tree root and squirmed to get comfortable. However, in a symphony of bodily motions, his back popped loudly and his wounded leg ran over a rock. The rock scratched him back and he merited a small yelp. The Orcs refocused their attention.

"Hey, he's awake now. Let's string 'im from a tree and use 'im for target practice!" one Orc volunteered.

"I like that idea!" another agreed, much to Kili's disdain.

And that was settled. The Orc who originally found him picked him up by his bound hands and tied them again over a sturdy branch that was just high enough for him to be off the ground by a few inches.

"I say we beat 'im till he drops!"

The other four laughed and one picked up a small throwing knife. He took aim and threw, but missed. Kili smiled at the failure. The Orc walked over and put his face an inch from the young dwarf's.

"You think I'm funny, dwarf?" the Orc's breath smelled of old meat and stale bread. He pulled the knife out of the bark.

"No...but I have a brother who would have missed that throw," he spoke through the gag-cloth and gave a small chuckle.

"Good for you. But he won't save you!" the same Orc took a step back.

Without hesitation, he landed a few good uppercuts into Kili's gut. One landed on a rib and the young dwarf felt a _crack_. The Orc placed the tip of the knife on Kili's right temple and drew a thin line down until he hit the fabric. Warm blood trickled down the dwarf's face and he was glad that at least something in this frigid rain was warm.

"Let's try this again," the same Orc threw the knife and missed again.

Again, Kili chuckled at him. This time the Orc walked over and grabbed Kili's left shoulder with both of his huge hands.

"Your getting on my nerves."

One hand pulled one hand pushed, each with a violent force, and Kili felt his shoulder move and dislocate in a way he never knew it could move. He yelled a little through the gag but the Orc didn't hear.

"That oughtta shut you up," the Orc smiled, "but lets just make sure you don't go screaming."

A few well-timed, well-placed punches spread over Kili's face and ribs left him quiet and spitting out a tooth. His eye now blackened, jaw now worse for wear...he felt no need no talk.

"Maybe if your good...we'll take you down to the river," the Orc chuckled before pulling the knife from the tree and rejoining the others.


	3. Chapter 3

Thorin and Fili were still looking for Kili. They found no sign of him. This worried both uncle and nephew. Both were convinced that they had either lost him, or he was not in the forest by this point. Thorin was about to turn and ask Fili something when something tripped him. Fili ran over to him, and much to either of their surprise, he had tripped over a chain.

"If there's a chain there must be a trap!" Fili concluded and traced it along the dirt and mud.

Thunder echoed off in the distance and it only added to the intensity of the scene. For they soon found a bear trap with fresh blood on it and a set of drag marks leading away through the mud. A broken arrow lay amidst the trail. Fili looked up at Thorin as rain continued to streak down his face. The blonde's expression was one of fear and panic.

"Before you say anything," Thorin cautioned, " how do we know that that blood belongs to Kili and not an animal?"

"Uncle...that's one of Kili's arrows over there. Look harder at the tracks. Do they not seem _familiar_ to you?!"

Thorin recognized the tracks once he focused on them. Orc. Unmistakeable, undeniable, absolutely conclusive, Orc tracks.

"Uncle, please! Some Orcs have Kili! What if he's dead or hurt? We must follow the tracks!" Fili had to yell over the growing wind and rain.

This was a good argument. Once again...his nephew was right, "fine. We follow it."

The two started off down the trail, weapons poised and ready in case they had to defend themselves.

* * *

Even though he had only been in the Orc's "care" for two-maybe three at most-hours, Kili had been gagged, bound, beaten twice, used for target practice, had his shoulder dislocated if not broken, and was now laying back on the muddy ground as a foot rest. What's worst was that the Orc above him had positioned him with his wounded shoulder beneath him. About five minutes ago, one of the orcs decided his gag was too loose, so it was tightened. All the while rain was continuing to gush from the sky.

The Orc above him shifted his feet, which ground both his face and wounded leg and shoulder deeper and more painfully into the mud. Kili had been silent this whole time, but could resist no longer. As the Orc twisted his shoulder into the ground, the young dwarf screamed out (as loud as he could behind a suffocating gag) in both pain and protest.

"I thought I told you to shut up! Guess you didn't listen..." the Orc smiled sinisterly and stamped a heavily booted foot down on Kili's wounded leg which had already been almost broken by the trap, the weakened bone easily broke in two with a sickening snap. Kili yelled out, which only made the enraged Orc take his free foot and bash Kili in the gut a few times with his spiked heel. Tiny, shallow puncture holes dotted the dwarfs abdomen. Out of the corner of his eye, Kili swore he saw to dark figures move amongst the trees and duck behind a fallen log.

"Fee..." Kili whimpered helplessly.

The Orc grabbed a handful of hair and yanked Kili upright, "you've haven't behaved yourself...but we'll take you down to the river anyways."

"W-what a...sweet...t-thought," Kili barley managed out before spitting a mouthful of blood at the Orc. He responded by socking Kili in the nose hard enough to hear an audible crack.

* * *

Fili and Thorin had been following the trail and had been getting nowhere. Until they heard a scream that sounded remarkably similar to Kili. They followed both the sound and the tracks, and found about five Orcs camping out with one very familiar looking prisoner. They snuck around behind some trees and hid behind a fallen log. Fili's heat was just about ready leap out of his throat when he saw that damn Orc pulling Kili up by his hair.

The blonde dwarf cupped a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from screaming when he saw his brothers face. Even through the dark night and the haze of the rain, he could blatantly see that Kili's face had been battered, bruised, and beaten.

"You've haven't behaved yourself...but we'll take you down to the river anyways."

Thorin and Fili both prepared to fight and readied themselves to chase the orcs down. Then they saw the small pack drag Kili by his hair to the river a few meters away. It was then that Fili and Thorin saw Kili's leg, and Fili almost threw up when he saw the gashed skin and marred bone that stuck up underneath the skin.

"Wait until my signal, Fili. Then we'll attack."

Fili drew his swords, "I'm not waiting. I won't sit here and let Kili get murdered."

The young prince ran out from behind the log and after the Orcs with Thorin on his trail.

_Mahal, let nothing happen to Kili._


	4. Chapter 4

**hi again! Thank you for all the lovely reviews and if u haven't already checked it out, I added a few lines to the ending of chapter 3. Enjoy!**

* * *

The never ending downpour left plenty of mud and puddles for the Orc to drag Kili through. That was the least of his worries. His leg was broken and bloodied beyond comprehension, he knew from past experience that his nose wasn't broken (albeit bruised badly), the gag was beginning to cut into the sides of his mouth, and his whole face felt swollen.

He was being dragged by the Orc in front with the other four trailing behind. A wet leaf smacked him in the face as he was dragged through a bush. The Orc flung Kili into the trunk of a tree nearest the river bank.

"Congratulations...you've survived to the river. Let's have a party, shall we?!"

Kili pulled himself up on his elbows as best he could with bound hands and a dislocated shoulder just in time to see a twirl of blades slice an Orc down.

Fili.

The head Orc yelled in his own tongue at the other three who drew their weapons and engaged the two dwarves. Thorin made parrying an Orc sword look easy, but the rain made the handle of his sword slippery.

"Wanna join your kin, dwarf-scum?!" the Orc spat.

Thorin never responded. He ducked below the hideous creature and jumped at the Orcs neck with his sword pointed straight up. With expert wielding, Orchrist severed the assailant's jugular.

Fili was dodging blows from two Orcs, but the pace quickened when Thorin stabbed an unsuspecting Orc in the back and it slid down limp.

Fili concluded the all-to-quick battle by slashing his opponent across the face with both swords. He would never complain about long fights again.

"Weren't there five Orcs?" Thorin's tone was worried and on edge.

Fili spun his head from side to side in panic. He found the Orc a few meters away standing on the very edge of the river locking Kili in his arms with a knife pressed to the dwarf's throat.

"Kili!" Fili cried at the top of his lungs.

A clap of thunder signaled another cloudburst. The Orc pressed the knife harder into Kili's throat so tightly that tiny rivulets of blood mixed with the rain and trickled down his neck. The young dwarf fought to talk agains the gag, but it was too tight. The Orc started backing into the river; Kili tried to grip the ground with his bare toes, but was to weak to provide any real traction. The Orc laughed at the panicked dwarves, all of them.

Acting of both fear and maternal instinct, Thorin picked up a bow and arrow from a fallen Orc who failed to use it. He stung the bowing and aimed at the Orc's head.

"You shoot," the Orc threatened, tightening his hold on Kili (who was clawing at the forearm restraining him in a futile attempt at freedom), "I cut."

Thorin pulled the arrow further back and the Orc moved to slice the young dwarf's neck. But Thorin was too quick, and the arrow found it's mark in between the Orc's eyes before his nephew could be harmed further. The Orc's body swayed into the river...taking Kili with him.

On a happy note, the dead Orc separated from Kili, which made catching him easier. On a darker note, being bound, gagged, and too wounded to swim, Kili soon went under.

"Fili, get Kili's clothes!" Thorin ordered as he sprinted off downstream after his drowning nephew.

Fili ran back to the Orc's makeshift camp, but watched his uncle as long as he could.

* * *

Thorin was close enough that he could jump in and pull Kili out. He was only a few meters away, he could do this. It was his nephews life...he had to. And he jumped in the stream after him.

Water was splashing everywhere and I was hard to distinguish rain from river. But the distance between them was growing rapidly. Thorin hollered his nephew's name, but with no answer. Then he say Kili go under. Under the waves.

Thorin panicked and dove under as well. But the murky waters clouded his vision and stung his eyes enough to make him resurface. They were close enough to some large rocks that Kili could be swept onto one.

The king grabbed onto a rock that was arm's length away and whipped his head around in search. And found Kili. Slammed against a rock ten feet away and hanging on for his dear (yet unconscious) life.

"Kili! Hang on!" Thorin called as he plunged back in and swam to his nephew.

Thorin grabbed Kili's tunic collar and pulled him from the rock he was pinned to. After slinging his nephew's arms around him, he swam towards the shore; not caring for his safety anymore. Despite his best efforts, the current was hellbent on pulling them under. But Thorin swam harder and prayed to Mahal that Kili was going to be alright. Never had he been so happy to hit solid, muddy ground.

Thorin dropped Kili on the bank just as Fili ran up holding all of Kili's equipment (coat, armor, how quiver, boots, etc). Fili handed Thorin a knife which he used to cut the ropes and gag from Kili...but he wasn't moving.

"Uncle, do something!" Fili cried as he sheathed the knife.

Just as Thorin was about to check Kili's breathing, said nephew rolled over and vomited out river water. Both brother and uncle were relieved that he was at the very least, alive.

"Orcs...I h-hate...O-orcs," Kili rasped throught retches, that soon ended.

"If you can't walk, I'll have to carry you," Thorin spoke as he rose and scooped up Kili; unaware of his dislocated shoulder.

"AH! Watch...the...s-shoulder," Kili moaned.


	5. Chapter 5

The three found themselves walking back to camp, again through a drenching cloudburst. Thorin had to carry Kili, who was now shaking terribly in the soaking cold. Unable to put Kili's overcoat on, Fili gingerly draped it over his younger brother and had surrendered his fur one for Kili also. The boots were a given, but the youngest wasn't quiet about it. Thunder resonated again, Kili shivered harder, and squeezed himself tighter against his uncle: his teeth chattered behind the noise of the rain.

"I feel so bad about this," Fili mumbled, "I was supposed to watch him and I didn't. This is all my fault."

Thorin felt his nephew's guilt and knew that it was not in any Fili's fault. But Kili beat him to the consolation part.

"Not...y-your f-f-fault, F-Fili. I'm the o-one who ran off-f," he croaked out.

"Your brother is right. It was his own scatterbrained idea to run into the woods alone," the sentiment was directed at the nephew in Thorin's arms.

Kili's cut lips hesitantly formed a tiny smile as if to say "I get the point". This only lasted a few seconds, because shortly thereafter, the young brunette began coughing so hard that he fell out of his uncle's grasp. He hit the mud awkwardly and gasped out in pain while still coughing. Thorin picked him up again and turned his attention to Fili.

"We have to get him back to camp **_now_**. Run ahead and tell them we are coming. Hurry!"

Fili din't reply and turned and sprinted off in the direction they were going. The phrase "gotta save Kili" repeated itself in his head as each splashing footfall got him closer and closer to saving his little brother. Finally after what seemed like hours, he broke the tree line and burst into camp. Everyone stared at him like he was positively mad.

"Found Kili," he panted and spoke the fastest he could go, "Uncle's got him...the-there were Orcs and the took Kili and he's really hurt and-"

"Slow down, lad," Dwalin ventured, "now...what happ-"

He didn't have time to finish the statement as Thorin and a very injured Kili entered in. Everything was a mad dash: Oin unpacked bottles and packs of herbs, Dwalin running up and taking Kili from Thorin, blankets being pulled up and rearranged for the wounded dwarf to be set down on. Dwalin tried to lay him down gently, but the second he hit tho bedrolls, he screamed out in pain.

"It's his shoulder..it's dislocated!" Fili yelled over his brother.

Thorin knelt down behind Kili and helped him sit up. Fili pulled his brother in so that he was leaning on the blonde. Their uncle removed his wounded nephew's tunic and had to look away for a split second when he saw the black and blue shoulder that matched Kili's face.

"Kili, I'm sorry but this is going to hurt," Thorin delicately placed his hand on his nephews shoulder.

"Just do it," Kili grunted.

Thorin and Fili nodded at each other and counted to three. By the count of three, Fili tightened his grip on his brother and Thorin pushed the bone in with a practiced might. Kili screamed out for a second and then he fell silent, save for the sound if his labored breathing.

* * *

"Lay him down and lets get this done quickly," Balin instructed, "he's unconscious so he won't feel most of this. Orcs are damned creatures who know nothing but pain and destruction," he muttered.

The cracked ribs were the least of their problems right now. They would heal on their own. The cuts that adorned his abdomen from the Orc's boot were shallow and appeared not to have hit any major vessels, but needed stitching regardless. Kili's leg, however, was a bloody, boney mess and they had to worry about setting it first and foremost. It was better to work on both jobs simultaneously; which had Oin stitching Kili's abdomen, and Balin (with a volunteered Fili) working on the leg.

A bowl that had been left outside was now full with water and it didn't take tong long before the continuous use of dipping cloths in it to clean off Kili's wounds turned the water red. Balin handed Fili a long roll of bandages and two, very sturdy, branches. Oin concluded bandaging Kili's upper half and Bofur absentmindedly threw some more logs on the fire.

"Bind the leg as tight as you can, then splint it as tight as you can. Bear traps can do despicable damage. Keep him warm, too," Balin said as he rose and left to talk with Thorin.

Oin had long finished and walked away from the brothers. Fili looked down at his unconscious brother and reached for a couple of blankets to cover up Kili's shivering frame. After he got the first blanket covering him, Kili started up with a grisly cough that wracked his whole body and left him shaking.

"Hey, F-Fee...it's r-really c-cold," he managed in a hoarse, cracked voice.

"I know it is. Just go to sleep and you'll feel better in the morning," Fili reassured him as he layered the second on top of his younger brother, removed his fur jacket, and balled it under Kili's head for a pillow.


	6. Chapter 6

**hi again! thank you to everyone who followed/favorited this story and a huge THANK YOU too everyone who left lovely reviews. i feel so accomplished bc this is im a "community" now ^-^. im sorry this chapter is a lil late, but ive been a tad busy with schoolwork and finals are closing in and BLAUH! enjoy and im trying to post as soon as i can. enough waffles...**

* * *

Fili had told Kili that he would feel better in the morning. That was a lie. Kili woke up cold, sore, and erupting with pain. His face was a spill of black and blue bruises that marred his eye and his nose; his lip was spilt and bled when he would cough; his leg was numb with pain and shot lances up his spine when he moved. And Kili never stopped shivering. As Bofur had so delicately put it, he had "a fever that would give the Dwarven forges a run for their money". But the company had to move forward...but they had no ponies and traveled on foot.

"I can carry Kili. He can lean his weight on me," Fili offered.

"Fili, you cannot carry your brother. I admire the thought but he will be too heavy and time is against us," Thorin tried to sound caring...even though he was shooting his nephew down.

Bilbo was standing off to the side and overheard the conversation. He saw all that happened last night, and to be quite honest, he felt pity for the young dwarf.

"I can help. Well, I can take half the weight at least," the hobbit volunteered.

Thorin eyed him quizzically. He doubted the hobbit at times and this time was no exception. True that Fili couldn't carry Kili on his own; true that Kili also couldn't walk on his own. From where he saw things...there was no other choice.

"Very well, Master Baggins."

Fili mouthed a "thank you" to Bilbo as the hobbit reached for Kili's left side and carefully brought the dwarf's arm over his shoulder and began standing.

"Easy with his shoulder," Fili warned quietly as he to stood up and supported his brother's weight. Bilbo nodded in return.

Fili's face immediately knotted into one of concern when they started walking. He could all but _feel_ the heat radiating off Kili.

Kili had a fever, which worried Fili. But what worried him more was that Kili was still shivering like he was in the rain again. The wounded dwarf was looking very drained, very pale, and very ready to drop down on the ground. However, he had only been walking for maybe twenty minutes.

Kili gave a hoarse, labored, and (surprisingly) quiet moan, "Fee...m'cold..."

The older brother did a double-take when he heard what Kili said, "how are you cold? You're on fire."

Not good, not good, Fili repeated in his head. Bilbo heard the two talking and he knew that he should speak up. He should ask the company to stop for a while, at least long enough for Kili to rest a few minutes. But the youngest brother must've read his mind. Kili's grip on the two slackened greatly and the weight load increased.

"Fee, I think I'm gonna-" Kili's eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped to the ground.

"Kili? Kili!" Fili grabbed at his unconscious brother.

He and Bilbo barely managed to catch him before the brunette hit the ground. The company halted and Thorin shoved his way through to his nephews in the back. Fili was slapping Kili's unbruised cheek in a failed attempt at waking his brother. Bilbo backed away from the scene when Thorin crouched by his nephews.

"What happened?"

"I-I don't know. He just...collapsed!"

Thorin turned his attention back to the company, "we'll stop here. Balin! Oin! Get over here!"

* * *

It was nighttime now, and they had gotten a fire going, and Balin and Oin had redressed Kili's wounds. But he was still unconscious. Fili had once again surrendered his fur jacket for Kili to use as a pillow, and the younger brother was under a couple of blankets, with a cool cloth resting on his forehead. It wasn't long before Thorin sat down on the ground beside Fili, who looked in desperate need of good counseling.

"Fili," Thorin said in a calm, fatherly tone, "I know you too well. You always blame yourself when something bad happens to Kili when you're around. Whether or not you had anything to do with it. But, you must stop that now. I'm not condoning that Kili ran off into the woods, but I'm also not condemning him. He acted on his own accord."

"But, Uncle, I was supposed to be watching out for him! I let Kili run off without even stopping him. I'm the oldest, so I-"

"...I said...it wasn't...your...fault," a tiny voice rasped out.

"Kili! Thank Mahal your awake! You scared me half to death."

Both brother and uncle rushed to his side. Kili tried to sit up, but his body screamed out in a cacophony of painful protest, and he laid back down. His brother saw his efforts and helped him sit up once more. Kili was still extremely tired so he tilted to the side and leaned his head against his brother. Fili smiled at the gentle affection, but that was short lived. Even in the fire light and over the purple marring of the numerous bruises that covered his face, Kili looked flushed and feverish (more so than he already was). Thorin also took notice and laid a hand on his nephews forehead; Kili shivered under his uncle's touch. Fili and Thorin's brows both furrowed worriedly.

"Uncle...I'm...fine. You should...stop...worrying," Kili mumbled over his burning, scratchy throat.

"Regardless, I'm seeing if Oin can do anything. You're still burning up," he said as he rose and went to find the physician.

"Honestly, Kili. You can be so stubborn sometimes," Fili pulled a corner of one of the blankets up onto his brother's shoulder.

Kili smiled gratefully, but soon found himself coughing violently in his brother's arms. Fili resorted to just holding his younger brother and trying to calm him by whispering "shh" soothingly in Kili's ear. It soon ended and the brunette slumped back in FIli's arms. But there was a problem. A big one. There was blood on Fili's sleeve from where Kili had been coughing and his breathing was terribly labored. This was not good.


	7. Chapter 7

**again, hi and thank you all for the wonderful reviews and all the positive feed back! Anyways, I'm trying to update as fast as i can, but i have been a lil busy. BUT IM GOING AS FAAST AS I CAN. But enjoy...^_^**

* * *

"Thorin! Oin! Come quickly!" Fili sounded like a small child again, and was beside himself with fear for his younger brother.

The whole company heard the call and turned to look, but dared not move when Thorin and Oin burst through. Kili was shaking like a leaf in his brother's arms and tried to stifle his coughs. The physician knelt down by the two brothers when he had arrived.

"Kili was fine, and then he was coughing and then there was all this blood!"

"I have to check those ribs. Get his clothes off and lay him down," Oin ordered.

However, pulling clothes off didn't really help Kili. After each article went, he shivered harder, until finally his chest was bare and his teeth were on the verge of chattering again. He groped blindly for a blanket, or clothes, or anything really that would grant the young dwarf heat. But, his brother and uncle's hands held him back. Oin brushed his fingers around Kili's ribcage, and when he brushed over a few ribs a few inches away from the brunette's stomach, Kili screamed.

"What is it?! What did you do?!" Fili asked hurriedly and gripped his brother's hand as if it would help.

"I thought the ribs were cracked, but no. They are broken...and have punctured a lung. There is little I can do in our current situation, but I will do _all_ that I can," the old physician tried to sound as reassuring and steadfast as was possible.

"And that is?" Thorin's tone was calm and subtle, despite the fact that his nephew was lying in front of him, quite possibly dying.

"I have to stitch the lung."

The words hit Fili like a physical punch in the gut. "Stitch the lung"...that meant cutting Kili open. As in knives, sutures, and blood. _Lots _and _lots_ of blood. His baby brother's blood. Fili wasn't sure how to act. A scraped knee when they had been younger: no problem. Cutting a finger sharpening a sword: a cinch. Hell, he had even been fine helping bind Kili's leg the night before (unsettled, but still fine). Kili didn't take the news to well either. The instant the phrase was out in the open, the young dwarf's eyes went wide and he forgot all about his current predicament. Sure, he had gotten hurt more times that he could even count, but it had never been_ this_ serious. He stop shivering and just stared blankly at Oin and Thorin. He tried to speak, but the words froze in his throat.

"...Stitch the lung? As in...sewing a needle...through - " Kili was glad that he was interrupted by Fili, even though his brother wasn't.

"I think I'm going to...be sick," Fili barely finished the statement before he jumped to his feet, ran off to a tree a few yards away, and heaved out the contents of his stomach.

"It'll take only about an hour, and I'll give you something to knock you out," Oin reassured, but that fell on deaf ears.

"Kili, please. Don't act childish. This has to be done," Thorin was firm.

"You won't feel a thing. I promise," Oin tried again, reached for his bag, and pulled out a bottle with a thick, amber liquid inside, "drink this and it'll knock you out for a good while."

Fili came back over and resumed his spot beside his brother, "I'll help so it goes faster. Kili, it's for your own good."

Kili turned his blank gaze to Fili and nodded absentmindedly.

* * *

Kili had drank the draught he was given, and was now lying on a blanket (unconscious once more) near the fire, shirtless and unbandaged. Oin had long since cut the skin from around his ribs and both him and Fili were staring down at Kili's bare ribs and lung. Oin was poker-faced from decades of experience, while Fili was actively trying to keep every drop of rising bile down. Thorin was standing over Fili - waiting with bated breath - in case he was needed.

"Listen closely lad," Oin began firmly, "I need you to suture the lung while I hold the rib off it. Go carefully and mind the pressure."

The blonde nodded and delicately took up the needle against his brother. Slowly, Fili began to suture his brother's wounds; each heartbeat lasted an eternity, and each moment was life or death for Kili. Blood laced its way onto FIli's fingertips and mad the needle slick and he soon found himself struggling to grasp the needle. The total length of the puncture was only about two centimeters, but it felt like a mile to Fili.

Every so often, he'd get an "almost done" or a "you're doing just fine" from his uncle. But he could care less for his own sanity at this point. He was only focusing on Kili, his small frame breathing slowly and his skin so whitely pale that the blood stood out tenfold. But he was almost done. Fili had only three more stitches.

Three.

Two.

One.

He was done, now. The thread was tied off, the rib was carefully set down, the skin closed up. Thorin handed his nephew a bowl of water to wash his hands off before Fili helped with the bandaging.

Fili held his brother up, while Oin rubbed some salve on wrapped the cloth around Kili. The brunette's head lolled against his older brother's shoulder and his eyelids fluttered aimlessly. After a couple of minutes, they opened slowly.

"Fee," Kili's whisper was both hoarse and labored.

"Shh...don't talk, Kili. Just take it easy and we'll get you something for the pain as soon as we can," Fili cooed softly.

The younger brother closed his eyes in response. He was still feverish and a thin layer of sweat dusted his forehead. The bandage was knotted and there was a light tap on Fili's hand. He flicked his eyes up to Oin passing him a water-skin and a small bottle of (what he knew from plenty of previous occasions to be) a concoction that numbed pain for a few hours. Fili gently shook Kili awake and gave him some of the pain medication before allowing him a long, welcoming drink of cool water.

When he was finished, Fili handed Oin back the water-skin and bottle, and put his other arm around Kili; cradling him like a mother would a young child. The blonde brought the blanket up to Kili's shoulders and brushed a strand of hair from the younger's face.

"Fili, please...don't go. Stay...with me," Kili pleaded weakly.

"I won't, Kili. I promise. Now go to sleep."

Kili nodded faintly and the pair were both asleep before long. Unbeknownst to either of them, Thorin draped his fur-skin over both of their shoulders before retiring to his own bedroll a couple yards away.

_Oh Dis, I wish you could see your sons now. You and Frerin would both be proud._


	8. Chapter 8

**hi! I really sorry this one is a couple weeks late, but I couldn't figure put what to write! Any ways, this will be the last chapter for the story. Thank you for all the positive feedback and favorites and follows!**

* * *

It was a biting pain, like little knives jabbing him wherever they could. Kili cracked his eyes open into groggy slits and peered up at Fili, who was still sleeping. Before he could say anything, he saw Thorin approaching, holding a couple bowls. He saw that, at least, one of his nephews was awake and sat down near the two.

"I don't expect you'll eat all this...but if you're hungry, it's here," Thorin set the two bowls on the ground; whatever type of soup or stew it was did look delicious.

"H-Hey, Fee -"

"Let him sleep," Thorin cut in calmly, "he needs it."

A muffled, tired, voice answered him, "it's cute that you think I was actually asleep."

Kili pushed his brother's arm off himself and sat up with his uncle's help. Fili opened his eyes and stretched his back. Thorin passed a bowl and Fili graciously ate it. It wasn't hard to see the truth in his nephew's statement when he moved had dark bags under his eyes and moved like a zombie.

Kili picked up his breakfast looked at Fili worriedly, "you didn't have to stay up for me."

His older brother laughed, "I couldn't help it. Now, here," he tossed Thorin back his fur, "you can take your fur back. Thanks, Uncle."

Thorin rejoined company and left Fili and Kili to eat. The two soon finished and Fili pulled Oin's medical satchel (which was left near the two during the night in case it was needed) over. He rummaged through it until he found some fresh bandages and a salve that was made up the night before.

"Sit still and maybe this won't take forever. I'll try and be gentle," FIli said as he unwrapped the current bandages from his brother.

"I'm sorry, Fee."

"Sorry? For what?"

"I should have listened to you back in the woods. It was stupid of me to run off...you were just trying to protect me, but I ignored you like always. Now you and Uncle are -"

"Kili, stop. We discussed this. Now, you're not dead, hurt, but not dead. Which is perfectly fine. In your crazy mind, you were helping."

Kili stayed silent while Fili finished and helped him put his tunic on. They both finished eating, and Fili rolled out a couple of bedrolls on the grass. The brunette eyed his brother questioningly.

"I am getting some sleep. And so should you, brother," the blonde said as he laid down.

"Fee, I-never mind," Kili began, but soon fell asleep next to his brother.

* * *

**I'm sorry if the ending is terrible, but I didn't know any other way to end it. Well it's been fun and I apologize for this final chapter being so short.**


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